What is equality
The equality is a equivalence either accordance in the quality, quantity or form of two or more elements. Is he equitable treatment of people, for example, ‘gender equality’.
Equality between human beings is considered a right in many cultures, although in many cases equality does not exist due to economic, racial or religious factors. In this sense, it is associated with other values such as justice and solidarity.
The word ‘equality’ comes from Latin aequalĭtas, -ātis, formed with the term aequus (equal, flat, balanced).
Gender equality
Gender equality is a concept that establishes that people are equal in rights and duties regardless of their gender. Sometimes it also appears as ‘gender equality‘.
Although it may seem contradictory, to achieve equality between men and women in a society, the same treatment is not always given to all people regardless of their gender. Sometimes there are laws and measures called positive discrimination that seek to grant benefits to women to compensate for existing gender inequalities.
There are places where gender equality does not exist, societies where machismo is institutionalized. For this reason, gender equality must be promoted in family, educational and work environments.
Social equality
Different disciplines such as Philosophy, Sociology, Anthropology and Politics analyze the concept of equality between the members of a society. In a generic way it is understood that the social equality It is a concept related to social justice.
The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example, states that:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
Social equality is also one of the objectives of some political parties, organizations and associations. At the political level, there are different organizational models that seek to promote social equality.
Throughout History, in situations of inequality between people or groups in society, confrontations or social conflicts have occurred that seek to end or counteract these types of situations.
Social equality is a broad term and can be applied to different areas of society such as education, work or health and includes other concepts such as gender equality and equal opportunities.
Equality before the law
Equality before the law is about legal principle which establishes a series of common rights, duties and guarantees for all citizens of a society.
Discrimination of any kind (religious, ethnic, gender, etc.) and privileges (derived, for example, from titles of nobility) are therefore excluded. It means that the application of laws on citizens is not conditioned by the type of person to whom it is applied.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in article 7:
All (human beings) are equal before the law and have, without distinction, the right to equal protection of the law.
In many countries, the principle of equality before the law is included in the Constitution. However, in most countries there is no true equality before the law, sometimes being a formalism and not a reality.
It is usually understood that the democratic system is based on the equality of its citizens before the law, although in many cases this principle is not fulfilled.
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